Judges agreed with Rousso, whose concoction earned Best Taste honors Monday at the ninth annual Big Tex Choice Awards for the 2013 State Fair of Texas.

Award for Most Creative went to Fried Thanksgiving Dinner, a mixture of homemade stuffing and diced roast turkey, dipped in Southern cream corn and rolled in seasoned corn meal, then fried to a crispy golden brown.

Creator Justin Martinez said the idea came to him at Thanksgiving dinner nearly two years ago but took time to perfect.

“There was a lot of trial and error,” said Martinez, co-owner of a specialty concessionaire business in Arlington. “We knew it had to taste just like Thanksgiving to work.”

He serves it with giblet gravy and a zesty orange-cranberry sauce for dipping.

Winners faced stiff competition from the other six artery-clogging finalists, which included Fernie’s Deep Fried King Ranch Casserole, Southern Style Chicken-Fried Meatloaf and the Texas Fried Fireball, a combination of pimento cheese, pickles, cayenne pepper and bacon dipped in buttermilk and deep fried.

Christi Erpillo, who came up with the Fried King Ranch Casserole, called her Texas-shaped dish a tribute to the state.

“This is our love letter to the State Fair, to the State of Texas and to Big Tex,” she said, glancing at the judges who scribbled notes while sampling.

Davidson, who grew up in Arlington and attends the fair every year, said creative fried food has become a signature of the State Fair. “Now I have to go find a way to pare down my cholesterol,” he said.

Finalists said they have already begun to wonder how they will top this year.

“Every year it gets harder and harder,” Martinez said. “There’s only so much you can deep fry.”